MP Eric Joyce may step down sooner rather than later after new guilty verdict

SHAMED MP Eric Joyce may stand down earlier than planned after being fined £1,500 yesterday for abusive behaviour.

Falkirk MP Eric Joyce said he will not stand again for the position at the 2015 General Election [PA]

Joyce, 53, had already said he would not stand for the Falkirk constituency at the 2015 General Election, but, after leaving Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday, he said he would reflect on whether to go on.

The former Army major pleaded guilty to one charge of breach of the peace over the incident on May 9 last year at Edinburgh Airport.

Outside court, he said: “My instinct is to stay, but I do not know how I will feel in a few days. My constituents have seen this before, so they might think other apologies are not meant, but they are.”

The former Labour MP had been drinking on an evening flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh, and realised after he disembarked that he’d left his phone on board.

He asked airport baggage handlers for help and became abusive when they asked for flight details. Police officers became involved, but he continued to hurl insults.

He also referred to an officer of Afro-Caribbean origin as “f****** fat and black”.

Joyce began to “flail his arms” when one officer attempted to put him in handcuffs and he continued to resist until he was restrained on the floor. Sheriff Frank Crowe described his actions as a “deeply unfortunate, prolonged, drink-fuelled rant”.

As well as imposing a fine, the sheriff ordered Joyce to pay £100 compensation to airport staff and £50 to the police officer he racially insulted.

Defence lawyer Euan Gosney, who said Joyce was in a “high state of anxiety” because of the recent death of his brother and previous police encounters, said Joyce does not intend to seek re-election.

Gray Allan, chairman of the Falkirk Constituency Labour Party, said: “Eric Joyce is not a Labour MP, or a member of the Labour Party, so we cannot influence his decision whether to tough it out until the General Election or go for a by-election. But in the interests of the people of Falkirk, and probably in the interest of Eric Joyce too, sooner might be better.”

Two years ago, Joyce was arrested over allegations he assaulted four fellow politicians in a House of Commons bar. He was fined £3,000 and banned from pubs for three months and expelled from the Labour Party.

In March 2013, Joyce was arrested over another alleged brawl in a Commons bar, but did not face charges.

In July 2012 he hit the headlines after an inappropriate relationship with party activist Meg Lauder, then 17. He was also convicted in 2010 of driving while over the legal alcohol limit.